EAS 103 GLOBAL JAPAN

What is everyday life like in Japan?  This course explores ethnographies – texts containing “stories people tell themselves about themselves” – in order to interrogate assumptions about Japan and examine significant issues facing contemporary Japanese society.  The course considers case studies such as Japanese dancehall and reggae fans; hostesses working in Tokyo’s red-light district; and Japanese Brazilian labor migrants working in automobile factories. Students will also critically assess concepts of “culture,” “nation,” and “identity,” grounded in lived experience in Japan.